Episode 054 - Reports from the Field with Nathan Faser

Published by: David Garfinkel on 04-30-2018

There’s an old concept in direct response called “dry testing.” Basically, it means you sell the product before you have it. I’ve heard questions about whether it’s legal to do this with physical products, but it seems to me it’s perfectly OK to do that with a course you’re planning to do. People pay now and take the course later.

After all, that’s what every single university does, and some of our universities in America, like Harvard, Yale, and the College of William and Mary, are actually older than the United States itself. They were founded before 1776!

So this is a traditionally accepted strategy with a proven track record.

Innovation is when you take this strategy and bring it into the 21st century. That’s what Nathan did this spring, and in today’s episode, we have a Report from the Field where Nathan will share the method to his madness, and talk about results.

But first… speaking of method… try this on for size:

Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time.

Questions David asks in this episode

1. So Nathan, could you talk about the risk of creating a new product before you know if the market actually wants it, and, in big picture terms, how you mitigated that risk?

2. What were the steps you took? Could you break down your marketing process and copy?

3. What kind of responses did you get from people?

4. How did sales go?

5. What are your next steps? What are your goals with this course?

6. What did you learn?

7. What advice would you offer others who would like to use a strategy like yours?